


Puzzle Box (Part 2)

by JiminWreckedSugaBias



Series: Maknae Line Hurt/Comfort Fics [35]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band), Stray Kids (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Crying, Hurt/Comfort, Lee Jihoon | Woozi & Min Yoongi | Suga are Related, Lee Jihoon | Woozi-centric, Min Yoongi | Suga Is a Good Hyung, Misunderstandings, Non-Sexual Age Play, Overworking, Temper Tantrums, reference to past self-harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 08:02:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23847877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JiminWreckedSugaBias/pseuds/JiminWreckedSugaBias
Summary: Jihoon had just worked for thirty straight hours on a song for their next comeback, and he was exhausted to say the least.So was he happy when he showed up to the dorm and saw all of his members plus his cousin sitting in the living room with serious looks in an atmosphere you could cut with a knife?No.Absofuckinglutely not.Or, the sequel that you guys asked for where Yoongi finally confront Jihoon about the puzzle box.***EDITED: but only for spelling errors and to take out k!m w00j!n
Series: Maknae Line Hurt/Comfort Fics [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1220564
Comments: 26
Kudos: 231





	Puzzle Box (Part 2)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CupidsAero](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupidsAero/gifts), [xvii_eyael](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xvii_eyael/gifts), [inspire_bts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inspire_bts/gifts).



> Hellooo!!! I know a lot of you guys requested this and here it is!!! 
> 
> Thank you for waiting and reading all my other stories!!! You guys are awesome!!

Jihoon had just worked for thirty straight hours on a song for their next comeback, and he was exhausted to say the least. 

So was he happy when he showed up to the dorm and saw all of his members plus his cousin sitting in the living room with serious looks in an atmosphere you could cut with a knife?

No.

Absofuckinglutely not. 

“What the hell is this?” Was all he could ask when he finally found his voice amongst all the anxiety starting to swell. 

“We need to talk, Ji.” Yoongi said. Jihoon noticed that the older’s voice was soft, not stern. So he knew he wasn’t in any trouble. 

“What about?” 

“Ji, remember when you told us about the puzzle box?” Jeonghan asked, and Jihoon’s eyes widened. 

“But there’s only candy in there!”

“I know, hun, but this is related. You aren’t in trouble.” 

Hearing Jeonghan say that calmed the younger down a bit, but he was still on edge. His mind was reeling with all the things that this could be about, and he was so focused on that, that he didn’t see his cousin walk over and take his jacket off of him. 

“Yoon?” He asked, feeling himself slip. 

“We need to talk about you, Ji. You haven’t been okay recently and we need you to be safe and happy.” He told the younger before gently helping the smaller with his shoes. 

“Y-Yoon, I-”

“Let us help you, Wooz.” 

“Woozi no need help!” 

Silence. 

No one had expected the smaller to lash out like that, much less lash out regressed. 

“But I think you do, baby.” Yoongi said, pulling the shorter into a hug. 

“No! No, no, no! Woozi no need help! Woozi fine!” 

“Woozi, we love and care about you,” Vernon said, “and what happened that morning really scared me. We all could see you becoming a bit more reserved, but we never knew it was that bad. We just want to make sure you aren’t-”

“What?! That I’m not just gonna turn around and fucking kill myself just because I don’t feel like functioning one day? That isn’t how it fucking works!” 

Now, Jihoon didn’t know where all the anger came from, but it disappeared along with his confidence as soon as it came. 

Which now meant that he had just blown up at his entire group, specifically one of his younger members, and his older cousin. 

With no more backbone to support him. 

So what’s the logical thing to do when you’ve done something you can’t undo and now look like a deer caught in 13 headlights?

Fucking run. 

  
  


“Jihoon!”

_ SLAM _

He was out the door and down the street before anyone could think to grab him. 

He didn’t want to face the consequences, but he knew he’d have to eventually. 

Just… not now. 

As he let his feet lead the way, he made sure to keep an eye out for fans, trying to avoid getting spotted and enabling his hyungs to track him via twitter tags. 

He eventually got to that one bridge that has become a bit notorious recently, and he realized he wasn’t alone. There was a tall male leaning against the rail, and while he didn’t look like he would jump, he didn’t look like he wasn’t against the idea if it had crossed his mind. 

“Hey, kid.” Jihoon said, after he was sure that the kid at least looked significantly younger than himself. 

The kid jolted a bit and looked toward him. A flash of recognition crossed the boy’s face before he bowed. 

“H-Hello sunbaenim.” Woozi knew he had seen this kid somewhere, but right now his sleep deprived brain was coming up empty. He walked over to him and stood next to him, leaning back against the rail. 

“Call me hyung, kid.” 

“Thank you, hyung.” The boy replied politely. The shorter of the two regarded the taller for a moment longer, and that’s when Jihoon recognized him. This was Hwang Hyunjin of Stray Kids. 

“Whatcha doin all the way over here? You’re one of Chan’s kids, right? JYP?” 

Hyunjin sighed and turned back to the view behind them, but Jihoon noticed his eyes were more focused downward. 

“Yeah. Not really sure how I got here.” 

Wait what? 

Jihoon raised an eyebrow, now concerned for the kid. 

“Not sure meaning you zoned out, or like you actually don’t remember?” 

“Zoned out.” 

Okay, well, Jihoon figured that was better than the alternative. “Hm.”

They allowed themselves to be surrounded in a comfortable silence. It was interesting for Jihoon to say the least, because he hadn’t really been too close to most of Stray Kids. Though he was pretty well acquainted with Chan, but there was a whole dramatic reason for that one. 

“And you?” Hyunjin’s sudden question startled Jihoon a bit, but he didn’t let it show. 

“Well, my company is Pledis, and this is the closest landmark to it.”

“But why come over here? You don’t seem to be in a hurry.”

"My members, specifically my hyungs, told my cousin something I didn't want them to. Just needed space to think so I don't do or say something I'll regret."

He oh so conveniently left out that he had already thrown a huge temper tantrum over it, but the younger didn’t need all the details. 

“Oh, is BTS Yoongi sunbaenim your cousin?” Jihoon mentally gave the kid props for getting it right before letting out a sigh. 

“Yeah, and he’s more protective with me than he is with his members, if you can even imagine that.” 

“That sounds like Chan with Felix.” 

“They’re both from Australia, right?”

"Yeah, so I get that they're so close, I just feel like I'm intruding sometimes. Don't want to take Chan hyung's attention from Felix when he needs it." Jihoon felt what was being described on a personal level.

It wasn’t but a little while ago when he needed Yoongi, but he heard that their junior group had just went through an ordeal that the older group themselves needed to step in for, and he didn’t want to be a burden. 

"What I'm hearing is that Felix is having a hard time mentally and so are you, but you don't want to ask for help because you think Felix is more deserving of it and you don’t want to be a burden."

Jihoon could see Hyunjin tense before whipping around to face him, but he decided to just stare into the horizon. 

“I’m the same way.” Hyunjin’s expression changed a bit.

“Are… are you okay?” Jihoon chuckled a bit at the question, but felt touched nonetheless. 

“Not really, but thanks for asking. I’ll be better when my brain stops fighting me every day.” 

“My… my brain fights with me too.”

"Something everyone takes for granted is that there's always someone who wants to help you. You just have to trust them enough to let them in. I know it's scary, believe me. I know. Telling my hyungs my self-harm story after they found me out was the hardest thing to do in my life. But I don't regret it, they've been great. Them telling Yoongi without my knowledge though? Kind of pissed me off."

By the end of his little rant, he felt a bit better about the situation back at his own dorm. He knew he had to face it, but maybe now that he’s had time to actually sort through his emotions, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

There was a honk behind them, making the both of them turn. 

It was Chan and Minho. The parents of Stray Kids. 

“Hyunjin!” 

Jihoon faced back at the horizon and let them have their moment, but fate seemed to have other ideas. 

"Wooz, Yoongi has been asking if anyone knows where you are, said he's been trying to reach you." Jihoon’s eyes widened. His phone was still on silent from when he was in the studio.

"Shit." Jihoon took out his phone and looked at the lock screen and paled at the amount of notifications. "Fuckin helicopter cousin." 

"He's worried, do you want me to drive you back?" Chan’s offer seemed nice enough, but now Jihoon definitely wanted as much time as possible before seeing his cousin. 

"Thanks, but the company is just right there. I'll head back in a few minutes. Just need some air." He said, putting his phone back in his pocket and running a hand through his hair. 

"And if I insist?" Fuck. Jihoon almost pouted, but he refrained because of Hyunjin and Minho being there. 

"Right, forgot you're a helicopter dad." Jihoon muttered. "If you insist, how can I argue."

\---------

The ride back to Pledis was short and quiet, but not uncomfortably so. 

Until they were close to the building. 

Fuck. 

Yoongi was standing there. 

Well, until the car came to a stop and he approached the car and opened the door for Jihoon and undid his seatbelt, making the boy nearly slip completely at the action. 

“Come on, Wooz.” 

  
  


Fuck. 

That voice. 

It was so soft, and it made Jihoon wanna slip even more. 

Once he was out of the car, his hand automatically went up to hold his cousin’s, but he dropped it when he realized they were still technically in public. 

"Thanks for bringing him back, Chan." Yoongi said. The Stray Kids leader nodded and smiled a bit. 

"No worries." 

"First you save Kai, and now Jihoon. We owe you." Jihoon's eyes widened and slightly narrowed. 

"He didn't save me?" Both Chan and Yoongi ignored the protest from the shorter and continued the conversation, making Jihoon pout. 

It was cut short, however, by Yoongi talking to him now. 

"Let's go talk to Cheol and everyone else who saw that tantrum." Jihoon whined, forgetting that Hyunjin was literally right there, and followed Yoongi into the building as Chan drove off with his own members. 

Fuck. 

"Do we really have to-" 

"Yes, Woozi. We do." 

That was the last thing that was said as he was brought out a different exit and to another car before being helped into the back seat. 

Jin was in the driver's seat. 

"When I heard Namjoon was driving around so much, I kinda grounded him." Jin said as a greeting. It made Jihoon smile just a bit. At least the oldest wasn't mad at him. However, he hadn't really been there to see his tantrum either. 

The drive was quiet except the few words Yoongi and Jin would exchange. Yoongi kept looking back at Jihoon, but the little would look out the window before he could say anything. 

Not like looking away made a difference, it wasn't like he was deaf. 

"Hoonie, you know we have to talk about it with the others." Yoongi said. Jihoon nodded, but was determined not to regress. He didn't think his little side could handle it right now. 

"Do you wanna talk to me before we get there to help you communicate later?" He asked, and Jihoon unfortunately had to nod. 

"Do you know why you regressed when we were talking earlier?" 

"I was really tired and just wanted to sleep." He said with a shrug. Yoongi raised an eyebrow. 

"Exactly how many hours in a row were you in the studio." 

Jihoon blushed. "Uh… thirty?" 

Jin nearly slammed on the breaks when he heard the number, startling both passengers. 

"Did you just say thirty?" His voice was calm, but still seemed to sound forced. 

"Y-Yeah, we have a comeback coming up." 

"That doesn't matter, I don't even allow Yoongi and Namjoon to stay in the studio that long and I nearly kicked Hoseok's ass when he hit twenty five hours." Jihoon froze at the words and he realized how bad it was. 

Yoongi didn't even work for that long. He was absolutely fucked. 

"I didn't mean to yell, I hadn't slept in more than that, and-" 

"How long has it been since you slept." Yoongi's voice was concerned, but stern. It left no room for argument. 

"Probably woke up forty hours ago?" He said with a shrug. 

Jin sped up a bit, and Jihoon didn't know what to feel. He was scared, he didn't want to be hated, didn't want to be scolded for trying to do his best for the team. 

"Jihoon that isn't healthy. I'm telling your manager you need a week break, and he isn't going to argue with me. You'll be staying in our dorm so I can keep an eye on you."

Jihoon felt tears in his eyes. Was he being grounded?

It felt like it. 

They pulled into the parking lot of the Seventeen dorm and the two older boys got out before Yoongi opened Jihoon's door. He unbuckled the boy and helped him out, and all Jihoon did was keep his head down to try to hide his tears. 

"Let's go." Yoongi said, and Jihoon felt another constriction around his heart and more tears fell. 

He followed behind him silently and Jin led the way.

When they arrived at the dorm, everyone was in the living room and Jihoon felt like he would rather die. 

He lifted his head up, and as soon as he did he had Vernon's arms wrapped around him. 

"Hey, what's wrong?" Vernon was using  _ that voice  _ and he couldn't help it. He dropped. 

"V-Vernie!" He clung to the boy and he buried his face into Vernon's shoulder. 

"Woozi, baby, what's the matter?" He asked gently, sitting down and stroking the boy's back. 

"W-Woozi no wan get punish for feelin sad…" he said as he clung harder to the boy. Vernon's eyes hardened as he looked to Yoongi and Jin. 

"Did you guys say you were punishing him?" He asked as he held his baby protectively. 

"No, we didn't?" Jin said, but it was more of a question. 

"D-Did!" Woozi cried. "S-Said I had stay with you! Said you had to keep e-eye on me!" 

Vernon tried to piece everything together and suddenly he got it. 

"Baby boy, did you think they were grounding you?" He asked, and Woozi let out a sob and nodded. 

"Felt sad so work long time, please no punish fo feel sad." He said and he could feel himself slipping further into headspace the more he got worked up and afraid. 

Yoongi cooed at the boy and sat in front of him and Vernon. 

"Baby, I wasn't grounding you, I'm just worried. You said you hadn't slept in forty hours, and I wanted to keep an eye on you so I knew you weren't just working when you should be resting." Woozi's cries continued but he was trying to calm down. 

He tried to take in a breath, but coughed when he inhaled a lot of spit, starting to choke on it.

A hand started patting his back and he was gently leaned forward by Vernin, who's lap he currently sat on. 

He stopped coughing and leaned against Vernon's chest as he focused on breathing. 

"Baby sowwy for yewing." He said as his eyes fluttered closed, falling into a deep sleep. 

He was exhausted. 

  
  


Yoongi felt tears fall when his cousin fell asleep in the younger bandmate's arms. 

Vernon rearranged the little in his arms and stood up, glaring at the two oldest in the room.

"You'll talk to him when he wakes up. I'm on break already and I can make sure he rests too." He said before turning down the hall and bringing the boy into his own room. 

He lay the boy on the bed and changed him slowly, not surprised the boy didn't wake up at all. He put a onsie on him and grabbed a stuffed animal and one of the boy's paci. 

He put the boy under the covers and put the paci in his mouth, which the boy immediately sucked on, and put the rabbit stuffy under his arm. 

He kissed the boy's head and got in next to him, wrapping his arms around him. 

If his hyungs wouldn't act like hyungs, then he would. He would protect Woozi, and even Jihoon hyung if it came to it. 

He needed to. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hiii!! Don't worry, more to come!


End file.
